FEATURE: Taipei County looks to rebuild site of weird UFO houses

By Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTER

Lin said that after taking over the project, he found that each UFO consisted of a reinforced concrete construction covered by fiber reinforced plastic. Earthquakes could damage such a construction and cause leaks and there was no way to fix such problems.

“We just wanted to finish the construction as soon as possible so we did not redesign or reconstruct the remaining half-completed houses,” Lin said.

He said construction was halted at the end of 1989 because Hung Kuo and Haichungtien had different plans for the compound and failed to reach an agreement.

“Haichungtien was a local business, but Hung Kuo wanted to make the site into an international resort. Unfortunately, the two ideas just did not fit together,” Lin said.

In 1995, Hung Kuo used the land to get loans from three banks because of financial problems, and the compound was left in its present state.

But the site will not lay derelict for much longer, it seems.

The Taipei County Government, according to Tourism and Travel Bureau Director Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠), now has clear plans for the reconstruction of the site.

“With help from the Sanjhih Township Administration Office, we are planning to turn the site into a real tourist attraction by constructing hotels, beach facilities and more,” Chin said.